Ingredient: chicken thighs

As Alton Brown says, “I never send breast to do what thighs could do better (and cheaper).” Grilled chicken gyros are no exception. You get a juicier piece of meat that works much better as a leftover (chicken breasts tend to get dry and I find they don’t taste as good on day 2) with the added benefit of being kissed by fire, imparting that flavor into the dish. I also find that cooking with the skin on and the bone in helps with keeping the chicken moist.

PRO TIP: don’t bother trying to cut the bone out. Let the chicken cool, and then bone it caveman style. Just slide your finger along the bone and pull the meat off. It’s much easier to do than attempting to cut it out, and it saves your blade from dulling on the bone. You also look much cooler doing it that way.

PRO TIP #2: If you really want to kick this up a notch, fire roast the tomato as well. Cook it whole over direct heat turning a few times to just get a char on all sides. If you char it too much, the skin will just slide off (which may be fine for some recipes, but we want to bring that flavor into the gyro sauce). Make sure to let it cool, as the liquid inside will be boiling hot when you cut into it if you do so right away.

Cut away any excess flaps of skin from the chicken thighs. Gently slide your finger between the skin and the meat on one side, taking care to leave the 3 other sides attached.

Sprinkle a teaspoon of Saint Brian's Dash Cunning Spice Rub into the pocket you created.

Squeeze the juice from half a lemon onto the chicken thighs.

Put a skewer through both onion slices to keep them together.

Oil the grill, and place the chicken, skin side up, and onions on the grates. Cook on one side for 6 minutes, and flip and cook for another 4-5, or until the internal temperature of the thighs reaches 165 degrees. You will know it's time to flip when the chicken releases easily from the grill. Remove, and allow the chicken and onion to rest for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is resting, whisk together the mayonnaise, cucumber, plum tomato, dill, the juice from half a lemon in a non-reactive bowl. finely chop the onion and add to the gyro sauce. Salt and pepper to taste.

Separate the chicken from the bones, and roughly chop into bite-sized pieces. Toss the chicken with the gyro sauce until coated.

Warm the pitas on the grill. Scoop the chicken mix into the pocket. Serve warmed or chilled.